The present invention relates to a humidifier used for various purposes, for example, to air-condition a room being heated or to protect foods such as vegetable, cake and dairy products against drying, so as to maintain high humidity environment and also the as to maintain high humidity environment and also the invention relates to a display case provided with said humidifier.
The humidifiers of prior art are based on various means or phenomena, for example, an ultrasonic wave oscillator, atomization of water, evaporation of water by heating, or natural evaporation of water by forced convection of air.
A humidifier utilizing the ultrasonic wave oscillator is disclosed in Japanese Disclosure Gazette No. 1988-46364, in which mist generated by the ultrasonic wave oscillator is supplied into an open display case together with cooled air from the upper part of this open display case in order to protect the articles on display against drying.
As an example of prior art related to the present invention, Japanese Disclosure Gazette No. 1986-96380 discloses a system adapted to utilize an element having Peltier effect and thereby to cool or to heat liquid, e.g., water to drink. Most of such systems comprising the Peltier element have primarily utilized the cooling effect of this element and accordingly found their application in room air-conditioning, cool storage, under-floor cool storage or the like.
For particular foods such as cake and dairy products, water particles obtained from the air humidifying means which utilizes natural evaporation or the like is sufficiently effective. However, the well known means conventionally employed for humidification of perishable foods. e.g., the humidifier utilizing the ultrasonic wave oscillate or atomizion water or the like is not preferable to maintain said particular foods such as cake and dairy products at a desired humidity, since water particles generated by such means have a relatively large particle size and are often condensed to waterdrops clinging to foods, the display case and the other objects.
The water evaporation by the heater or the like has been inconvenient also because humidifying steam introduced into the display case or the refrigerator is at a relatively high temperature and adversely affects an environment to be cooled within the display case.